CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah University Softball team is headed back to California this weekend to participate in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. The T-Birds (1-9, 0-0) will be in action Friday-Sunday, with two games slated for both Friday and Saturday, and one final game Sunday afternoon to close out tournament play. 

The Mary Nutter Classic is one of the premier non-conference tournaments in Division I Softball, as 27 different schools from across the nation are making the trip to Palm Springs to participate in the tournament.

Mary Nutter Classic Info

Dates: Feb 24-27

Location: Palm Springs, California

Venue: Big League Dreams Sports Park

Game Schedule

Friday, February 25

• Southern Utah vs California Riverside, 1:30 p.m. MT

  • Live Stream

• Southern Utah vs Long Beach State, 7:00 p.m. MT

  • Live Stream | Live Stats

Saturday, February 26

• Southern Utah vs UC San Diego, 6:00 p.m. MT

  • Live Stream

• Southern Utah vs Oregon State, 8:30 p.m. MT

  • Live Stream

Sunday, February 27

• Southern Utah vs Loyola Marymount, 12:30 p.m. MT

  • Live Stream

SUU Notes

• The Thunderbirds participated in the Campbell/Cartier Classic in San Diego last weekend. They picked up their first win of the season on the final day of tournament play, tallying a season-high nine hits on their way to a 5-1 victory over Army.

• Makall Whetten led the team in batting average throughout the Campbell/Cartier classic, hitting .300 for the weekend with three doubles and two RBI.

• In four out of five of Grace Owen's appearances on the mound during the Campbell/Cartier Classic, she combined to pitch 10.1 innings, allowing zero runs, two hits, while amassing nine total strikeouts.

• Freshmen Sophia Masut and Jayne Sepulveda each hit two doubles in tournament play last weekend.

• Riley Shue hit the T-Birds' first triple of the season in their win against Army.

• Dream Weaver is leading the T-Birds in batting average this season at .250, after batting .273 over five games last weekend.

• Reilly Williams is second on the team in batting average (.227), and first in both on-base percentage (.320) and slugging percentage (.364) this season.

• Josey White returned to the SUU lineup last weekend after missing the first five games due to injury. She tallied two hits with one of those being a double in her first action of the season.

Tournament Preview

California Riverside:

• California Riverside is 2-7 on the season so far, picking up wins against Utah Valley and Pacific at a tournament they hosted on opening weekend.

• They went 0-4 this past weekend at a tournament hosted by San Diego, dropping games to Oregon State, Iowa, SDSU, and San Diego.

• At the plate, the Highlanders are led by Haylee Kela, who is batting .345 with two doubles, one triple, and three RBI on the season.

• Relief pitcher Maddie Heinlin has compiled a 1.00 ERA in 18 innings on the mound this season.

Long Beach State:

• The Beach are 2-7 on the season; however, they have played five games against teams ranked in the top 20 nationally. 

• LBSU picked up both of their wins on opening weekend at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, beating Memphis and Lamar.

• LBSU is coming off an appearance at the Hillenbrand Invitational hosted by Arizona, where they went 0-4.

• The Beach currently have five different players hitting over .300 at the plate this season.

UC San Diego:

• The Tritons are 5-5 this season, coming off a weekend where they hosted the La Jolla Invitational, going 3-2 throughout the tournament.

• Sophia Real is batting .429 at the plate for UC San Diego this season, compiling 15 hits, three doubles, and five RBI thus far.

• Pitcher Jada Cecil has been dominant for UC San Diego this season, allowing just five earned runs in 27 innings pitched, with 38 total strikeouts.

Oregon State:

• The T-Birds squared off against Oregon State earlier this season at the Candrea Classic, as the Beavers captured the victory by a final score of 8-0.

• OSU is 7-3 on the season and is coming off a 4-1 record this past weekend at the USD tournament.

• Frankie Hammoude is leading the team in batting average (.538),  home runs (6), RBI (11), and slugging percentage (1.308) which is also good for 3rd best in the nation..

• The Beavers bullpen currently has the 5th best combined ERA in the country at 0.75, as well as the 2nd best strikeout-to-walk ratio, compiling 91 total strikeouts to just six walks.

Loyola Marymount:

• The Lions are 5-6 this season, picking up three wins this past weekend at the Hillenbrand Invitational against LBSU and UCSB (2x).

• Morgan DeBord is leading the Lions in batting average at .393 this season.

• Alyssa Daniell is hitting .370 at the plate, with two home runs and a slugging percentage of .630.

The Mary Nutter Classic should yet again provide a weekend full of talented opponents, as the T-Birds look to build upon their most complete performance of the season against Army.

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